Starting at 5 p.m. on March 17, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered all bars and nightclubs statewide to close for at least 30 days. This order was intended to help practice social distancing and eliminate the congregating of large crowds.
Popular Tallahassee clubs are among those affected by this shut down. Clubs like Top Flite, Bajas, and Good Vibes Only, where employees have suffered a huge financial impact since closing.
Originally, the projected end date for closures was April 18. However, President Trump extended the current guidelines to April 30, following the measures other nations have taken to flatten the number of cases rising due to COVID-19.
“I’m hoping that nightclubs will open back up soon and get back to normal, for some employees this is their only source of income,” Tyshira Baker, a Bajas Beach Club employee, said.
Since the extension of the closures, nightclub employees have had to find other ways to cope with the limited amount of revenue they may be bringing into their homes.
Brittany Ruffin,aTop Flite bartender, said, “So far, the closing of the clubs has been horrible for me. My main income only pays once a month, and with bartending I’m used to getting extra money weekly. Now having to re-budget is hard.”
On April 2, DeSantis suspended all evictions and foreclosures for the next 45 days.
Some see this as an opportunity to give people without income the chance to get their affairs in order. However, the purpose is to keep people in their homes to slow the coronavirus.
Although orders have been put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, concerns still arise that all bills haven’t been suspended and people still must find a way to feed their families.
“Luckily, I had another job to depend on because being out of work and not making money would have been very hard,” Baker said.
Nonetheless, as of April 15, Gov. DeSantis is working to form a task force to focus on reopening Florida and lowering the skyrocketing unemployment rate.
For now, the expected date for business and quarantine regulations to start lifting is May 1. For more updates about COVID-19, as It relates to Florida, can be found at wctv.tv.